Speed of Life

Woke up this morning to a haunting image of Mamadou Diallo and his young son walking by a mural of his deceased cousin Amadou Diallo. Amadou Diallo was mercilessly shot by the NYPD as he reached for his wallet in an attempt to placate the undercover cop's demands. More than once, because of this event, I have told my son, "If an officer stops you - Promise me, you always be polite. And that you'll never. never run away. Promise that you'll always keep your hands in sight." I stood up against the stage as Springsteen and the E-Street band sang these words in Bruce's homage to Diallo - "American Skin" - during the "Rising" tour. Clarence Clemons' face was streaked with tears as he intoned the refrain "41 shots". Enricsalas' YouTube video is a poignant mash-up of Springsteen and the E-Street Band's brave rendition from a series of concerts in Madison Square Garden, that some members of the NYPD naively picketed, overlayed...

by Gregg Chadwick As a father I can only imagine the pain of Trayvon Martin's parents. My son is 17, the same age as the teenager Trayvon Martin  who was pursued and shot over one month ago  in Sanford, Florida by "neighborhood watch" member George Zimmerman, reportedly because Trayvon's hoodie made him look suspicious. My son was accepted into college by my undergrad and graduate alma maters this week and we celebrated over dinner, but we couldn't help but think of Trayvon and his family.  In the weeks before his death, Trayvon was planning for college - just a typical junior in high school worrying about his future. A screenshot of Trayvon’s Gmail inbox provided to news sources is heartbreaking. Martin apparently used his Gmail account for his college search, and it’s filled with emails about upcoming SAT tests and scholarship applications. One of the emails reads: “Trayvon, now is the best time to take the SATs!” Holiday Photo of Trayvon Martin Pro...

by Gregg Chadwick In response to  Spring for Music 's Round Two query in  the 2012 Great Blogger Challenge : We live in an aggressively visual age; images dominate the popular culture.  But which art form has the most to say about contemporary culture, and why? Tokyo Streets photo by Gregg Chadwick  The dense visual language of the Tokyo cityscape immediately came to mind when I considered Spring for Music's second query in the 2012 Great Blogger Challenge. The visual cacophony of signs and images that line the streets of the city's shopping districts provide a visual metaphor for the images that threaten to overload us each day as we turn on our computers and televisions. But do images themselves say more than other art forms about contemporary culture? The uncertainty and ambiguity often found in our 21st century lives calls for a rich cultural exploration that images may only hint at.  ...